Bullet Proof Loneliness
by pinksparklystar
Summary: Edward is the star in an up and coming rock band but what secrets is he keeping? and why do his band mates think he has no family? And what exactly is the deal with the purple eyes? 1st fan fic please r
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first attempt at Fan Fic so please be patient and all reviews welcomed I can only try and get better with your help.**

**This chapter may seem a bit dry but I need to set the scene so bear with me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters contained within it they are all the property of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer (but if Stephenie would let me I'd like to borrow Edward or Carlisle for a little while).**

Bullet Proof Loneliness.

It was going to be a good show tonight, Edward could feel the anticipation rising from the large crowd packed into the club the way it had been lately since the reviews started and people started to pay more attention to his band. Of course he also had the benefit of being able to read the minds of everyone in the room. He could tell from those thoughts that a large proportion of the crowd was girls, and that they were mostly there to stare at him. "Edward is so fine.", "I wonder if he would ever date a fan?", "he's so sexy, I wonder what he looks like without his top on" these were by far some of the tamest of the thoughts that were passing through the crowds minds. Edward shuddered slightly at the thoughts 'If only they knew the truth' he thought.

"Five minutes guys" came a call from outside their dressing room door letting them know that it was almost time to go on.

Edward stepped over to the full length mirror that hung on the wall of their large dressing room, running his hand through his already messy bronze hair and looked into the reflection of his unusual purple eyes, psyching himself up to go onstage but in the process getting distracted by the hunger he could see deep in those unusually coloured eyes that everyone that saw him assumed were some sort of special custom order contacts, but were in fact only ordinary blue ones without any corrective properties. The purple colour came from the fact that he used them to disguise the red irises that would reveal his true nature to those around him.

For though he existed among the people of this world he was truly a monster and he could not risk anyone finding out his secret, the secret of his existence that he had been keeping since that fateful day in 1918 that he had kept solely to himself since he had chosen to reject his creators way of life all those years ago. He had just felt too restrained by Carlisle's choice of diet so he had set off on his own. Thinking about Carlisle threatened to send Edward on a little trip down memory lane as he realised that he hadn't thought of the man he once considered a father.

Fortunately Aiden the bands drummer chose that moment to nudge Edward, trying to get in front of the mirror. Edward chuckled "why are you worried about what you look like for? You are gonna be obscured by your kit anyway." He turned his attention back to his reflection quickly before Aiden could start an argument about girls loving a drummer and adjusted the red shirt he was wearing over the marble contours of his body, allowed himself a small smile in anticipation of what was to come after the show and then beckoned for the rest of his band mates to lead the way onstage.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So here is chapter two, hope you like it ******** if you do or even if you don't review and let me know. Thanks to MartaSwan for my first review ******

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked I wasn't Stephenie Meyer so twilight and all its wonderful characters do not belong to me.**

The room was almost black, the lights had been turned so low and a hush had fell over the expectant crowd as they waited for us to appear onstage. As soon as each band member set foot onto the side of the stage a spotlight would pick them up and follow them to their chosen spot and their instrument.

As this took place the screams from the crowd grew ever louder. I knew that they would reach their crescendo when I finally walked onstage, I also knew that there would be a tiny spark of fear in the minds of all those towards the front of the crowd as my skin took on a slightly unnerving glow under the spotlight. This glow was nowhere near as intense a reaction as my skin had to daylight but it was enough to create a reaction. This fear was normal – I expected it, it was the natural human reaction to being so close to one of my kind. The fact that I was onstage and they were down on the floor with a barrier between us made it slightly easier for all involved. It stopped them from feeling the urge to back away from me and it took away some of the potency the smell of their blood held for me. Some but not all.

The show went off without a hitch, just as all their shows before them had. The rest of the band though confused by Edward's sometimes strange behaviour and occasional requests that they change the set list halfway through a gig accepted it as it seemed to work in their favour.

Of course none of them had any inkling that these sudden changes were coming about because of the thoughts emanating from the minds of the crowd.

Edward himself was still slightly amazed that none of them had even the faintest notion of the secret that he held even though he so much time in close proximity to them. He knew that his behaviour must seem strange and erratic to them but they seemed to accept that that was just Edward.

Being stuck together on a tour bus for large amounts of time wasn't really the most conductive atmosphere to keeping secrets but somehow he managed. For this Edward was extremely glad, he had grown quite close to these four boys and would hate to have to kill them. But he would if they ever figured out exactly what it was that he was hiding from them, he wouldn't enjoy it but it would be necessary.

Fortunately for the rest of his band none of their blood appealed to Edward in the slightest. This could be due to the large amounts of alcohol, junk food and illegal substances that they all consumed at regular intervals. It could also be the fact that they were young men away from home and therefore didn't always have the most scrupulous of hygiene practices. Out of all of them Edward was the only one who actually remembered to shower at regular intervals, and out of all of them he was the one who needed it the least due to the fact that his vampire body couldn't actually produce sweat. For Edward it was more about enjoying the sensation of warmth on his icy skin.

The other members of the group only seemed to take any notice of their appearance before they went onstage, and then if they thought that there was a chance of getting lucky after a gig. The only other time Edward had seen any of the boys make a real effort with their appearance was when they were doing a hometown gig and they were planning on paying their families a visit. This was Edward believed in an effort to show their parents that they were successful and hadn't thrown away their lives on a stupid dream of being a rock star.

Noah, the band's lead guitarist, always went to the greatest effort on these occasions as his family were very religious and truly believed that their son's soul was condemned to an eternity in hell for what he was doing. The first time Edward had met them and heard these thoughts in their minds he had had to fight to stop himself from laughing out loud. If only they knew about the real monster in their midst, the one who's soul was forever lost. Ironically they had taken to Edward and decided that he could be a good influence on their son.

Tonight was not a hometown show for any of the group or at least they didn't think so. None of them had ever been able to get much information out of Edward about his life, he had vaguely mentioned Chicago when they asked him where he was from but that was about as much as they had been able to get out of him except for the fact that he claimed to have no family, no one to take his dirty laundry to and no one to cook him a nice homemade meal whenever he was in town. Edward had to repress a chuckle whenever this thought crossed one of the boy's minds.

Aiden and the other band members- Ethan, his younger brother, Matthew and Noah had often discussed the peculiarity that was Edward and his none existent history. They had come to the conclusion that his family must have been wiped out in some freak accident or that he was some rich kid trying to rebel against his family and their wealth. It always amused Edward greatly to hear the latest theories on himself whispered between them when they thought he was asleep or out of hearing range.

Their thoughts were elsewhere now though. As there was no family to visit tonight the boys were planning a night of drinking and partying, each one hoping that seeing as they had a free day tomorrow that could be used to recover, and the relative luxury of a night in a motel they might use the fame they were beginning to acquire to their advantage and get up close and personal with some of the finest local girls.

This was further aided by the fact that when they walked out of the back doors of the venue there waiting for them were half a dozen or so girls all hoping for pictures, autographs and the chance to get to know the boys a whole lot better. Aiden's eyes lit up at the sight and Edward felt the need to close his mind off to the increasingly crude thoughts that were running through his mind.

It was finally agreed that the girls would call up some more of their friends and they would all come over to the motel that the boys were staying at for the party to end all parties.

Edward decided that he would go along with their plans; he knew it wouldn't take long before they had all drunk so much that they would pass out and then he would be free to go and have his own fun. He knew that he could wait a little longer before hunting – his eyes had yet to turn completely black but he didn't like to push himself when he spent so much time in close proximity with so many humans. So he would play the part of the front man at tonight's party but he would not be partaking of the assembled crowd of girls like his fellow band members.

Edward knew better than to feed on anyone who could be linked back to them directly. No he would have to go out after the boys were passed out or otherwise occupied for his meal.

**A/N: up next Edward goes hunting. Until next time –enjoy.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer****: Nope they're still not mine no matter how much I wish. All hail Stephenie Meyer queen of all things Twilight.**

**A/N: so here it is – Edward goes hunting! Hope you enjoy.**

Edward had been right in his predictions of how the party would pan out.

Aiden had soon hooked up with one of the girls and disappeared off into his room – apparently his assertion that "_all the girls are hot for drummers dude"_ was actually correct.

The other guys had chatted and flirted with the remaining girls whilst getting increasingly drunk until they were barely coherent.

Edward himself had been coerced into downing several drinks by the guys trying to get him to 'join in the fun'. Apparently he seemed a little tense tonight. The girls who were there had joined in with the Get Edward Drunk game though their motives were slightly different to those of the guys; they were all hoping he would loose his inhibitions and take one of them back to his room. They were all hoping to go back to school or college on Monday with tales of how they had slept with the hottest lead singer around.

Not that it had any affect on him – the alcohol or the flirting that is.

He was a very good liar though and the assembled group had soon believed that their enigmatic frontman was wasted.

Noah on the other hand had been completely out of it soon after Edward had started to act as if he was drunk. He always seemed to be the one to go the furthest – drink the most, chat up the most girls even take the most drugs. The other guys thought that he was completely wild but Edward knew that Noah thought he had to do the most to distance himself from his religious past and prove himself to the rest of the group.

Edward had contemplated sitting him down and having a chat with him many times but he really didn't want to get into a heart to heart with anyone. They always expected something in return for opening themselves up and Edward didn't have anything he wanted o share with them. No, he was much better keeping everything to himself. It was a lonely way to live, but it was definitely for the best.

Finally the party had started to die down much to Edward's relief, there was only so much of these drunken, giggly girls he could take when he was planning on going hunting so soon.

Noah, who's room the party was being held in had passed out across the bed and Matthew had disappeared off to his own room after the girl he had been flirting with all evening had received a phone call and said that she had to leave and pick up one of her friends whose date had ended badly.

Edward himself had snuck off to the bathroom around this time to get rid of the alcohol that was sitting uncomfortably in his stomach. One of the remaining girls had seen where he went and heard the sounds of him retching and had knocked on the door wanting to know if he wanted her to rub his back or get him a glass of water. Edward had just growled in response and she took this as her cue to leave.

Finally Ethan had made up his mind on which of the remaining girls was going to be his companion for the evening and took her off to his room. Edward had heard him think about the possibilities of getting the two of them back to his room and he had then thought '_nah, that would probably only work if it were Edward asking them. That sort of thing only works for singers.' _ Edward had had to bite his lip to stop from laughing out loud.

Edward stayed in the bathroom until he was certain that everyone had left or passed out. He wasn't in the mood to make polite chat with anyone now, he needed to focus. He then walked out of the bathroom, checked on Noah to make sure he wasn't going to choke in his sleep and left the room.

His first stop was his own motel room where he proceeded to change into a pair of dark jeans, a plain blue t-shirt and a pair of running shoes.

He knew from experience that he needed to look casual and blend in with the crowd. He didn't want anyone looking at him too closely just in case.

He had been doing this long enough to know that there was very little chance of ever being caught but he still took all of these precautions every time he went out hunting. He also knew enough to know that he would need to make this look like some other crime or a terrible accident.

Over the years Edward had become very skilled at making his hunts look like muggings gone wrong, hit and runs or even at just hiding bodies so well that they would never be found. There had never been a single clue at any of the scenes that could lead any of the investigators back to Edward in any way.

With one quick glance at himself in the mirror and a check to make sure his band mates were all passed out or otherwise occupied, he couldn't take the risk of any of them suddenly deciding to check on him while he was out, Edward slipped out of his room and into the night.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edward wandered around the town aimlessly for a little while just listening to the thoughts of all those he passed by, enjoying the different scents of the humans as they passed.

Thankfully the boy's party hadn't gone on too late and being a Saturday night there were still plenty of people around. This was very good Edward thought _'plenty to choose from.' _He hated it when he needed to hunt and whatever town they happened to be in that night was practically deserted by the time he went out, especially when he as on tour as he liked to stay within range of the guys thoughts so he could be back fast if one of them thought about checking on him or even playing a prank on him in the night as they had a habit of doing with each other.

Quiet streets meant that he would be forced to choose someone he wouldn't usually have gone for.

For though he knew he was the very worst kind of monster, one who had intentionally turned his back on a slightly better way of existing, he was determined to do something good.

The people he chose to feed off of were the kind of people who didn't deserve to be alive anyway – muggers, rapists, murderers anyone who set out to inflict pain on those around them.

This was why he hated having a limited choice, it often meant that innocent people got killed and he became even more of a monster than he already was.

As he was wandering around Edward suddenly caught sight of someone vaguely familiar sitting in a bar across the road. The guy was sitting with a petite girl with long blond hair and a pink top on. She looked well on her way to being drunk and he was leaning in towards her whispering in her ear.

Edward suddenly realised who the guy was as he looked up for a moment, he was the guy he had seen in the thoughts of the girl Beth who Matthew had been chatting to at the party, the one who had had to leave to pick up her friend who's date had gone badly.

He was the guy who Beth's friend had been out on a date with, the one who had left her in such a state that she could barely speak on the phone.

And now here he was sat in a bar with a completely different girl.

Edward was across the street and pulling open the door of the bar before he had even had a chance to think about it. He walked over and sat down at the bar a few feet from where they sat at a table.

The bartender came over to take his order and without ever taking his eyes off the guy he ordered a beer just so no questions would be asked about him sitting in a bar without a drink.

His full concentration was on the couple in front of him. From what he could gather of their thoughts they had met in a different bar earlier in the night and he had invited her to come here with him alone 'so they could get to know each other better.' She had been reluctant but her friends had said that he was cute and that she could always call them if he turned out to be a creep.

Unfortunately Edward could hear his thoughts and knew that he was much worse than a creep, he had slipped something into the drink of the girl from the party's friend and had assaulted her in an alleyway outside a bar and was planning the same with this girl, only he was thinking of taking her back to his place first so he could be a little more comfortable and take his time a little more.

He leant in to whisper in her ear again and at the same time Edward saw him slip something into her drink.

Suddenly he was encouraging her to finish up her drink as he _'had somewhere he wanted to take her.' _She quickly downed what was left in her glass and grabbed his outstretched hand and they walked out of the bar.

Edward was up and out of the door right behind them; he was not going to let this guy do it again.

He followed them down the street and was right behind them as they turned right onto a darker street. As soon as the guy realised he was being followed he spun round ready to take on Edward and get him out of the way before he could realise what a state the girl was in.

Unfortunately he had picked the wrong guy to pick a fight with; Edward was more than ready for him. He could feel the venom starting to flow more rapidly into his mouth ready for the moment he would strike.

As soon as she saw that there was going to be a fight she tried to run away but whatever he had slipped into her drink chose that moment to start to work and she only got halfway down the street before she slumped down against a wall semiconscious.

Edward turned his attention back to the guy in front of him, knowing that it would all be over for him soon.

The guy swung towards Edward attempting to punch him in the face but Edward was much too fast for him. Before the guy could even register what was happening Edward was behind him with one hand on his shoulder and the other grabbing him by the hair.

He pulled his head to the side exposing his throat and felt the guy's heartbeat quicken. He then lowered his mouth to the vein pulsing in the guy's neck and slid his razor sharp teeth through his skin.

The blood flowed easily out of the pulsing vein; filling Edward's mouth almost faster than he could swallow it down until eventually it started to slow and Edward knew that he was nearly done. He had to make sure that there was no blood left in his victim because of the amount of venom that would have entered his body.

He couldn't risk turning this guy into a vampire so he had to drain him completely.

When he was done he staged the area to look like someone had tried to mug the guy, including taking the wallet out of the guy's pocket and left him for the police to find.

As he was walking back towards the motel he saw the girl still slumped against the wall mumbling to herself. He walked over and realised that she was saying a name over and over. He took the phone out of her hand and scrolled through the numbers until he found one that matched the name she was saying and pressed call.

He told the girl that answered, in his most charming voice, that he had found her friend in the street outside a bar, that he thought she may have had too much to drink and was saying her name. The friend said she would come and pick her up straight away and thanked him profusely.

He walked away back to the motel in a much better mood than he had felt in days.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for the good reviews, it makes my day to know that people are reading my story! So here is the next chapter. It gets a bit evil towards the end!**

**By the way Happy Halloween everyone (it's my favourite holiday).**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight or Edward that privilege belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.**

Edward lay on his bed in the cheap motel room watching the sun rise over the distant buildings.

It was going to be sunny today so he was thankful that they had the day off. It meant that he could hide out in his room with the curtains tightly closed and when his band mates came looking for him he could claim a hangover to get out of whatever they had planned for their day of freedom before they all had to climb back on the bus to get to their next venue, wherever that may be.

Trying to get about in the daylight without his friends noticing anything had turned into a bigger challenge for Edward than he had been expecting, he would do things like wear hoodies done up tightly with a scarf over his face if he couldn't get to the bus without anyone seeing.

He knew that they would accept his excuse of needing to sleep off his hangover today though. He had read in their thoughts that they considered him to be a lightweight when it came to drinking, especially considering that he always seemed to end up throwing up at the end of their drinking sessions.

Little did they know that this was the only way he could remove the alcohol from his stomach, otherwise it would sit there uncomfortably forever.

Edward lay back against the pillows after getting up and tightly closing the curtains against the sun that was now blazing in the sky. He awaited the first knock on his door which was bound to come soon; the others didn't leave him alone for long. This fact still surprised him, he was used to humans unconsciously avoiding him and it was weird that his band mates seemed to have got over this pretty quickly.

He figured that it would probably be Aiden who knocked first on his way back from escorting his 'guest' out of the building. He always came by to brag about his conquests and try and pry into what Edward had got up to. He never knew because he was invariably the first one to leave any of their gatherings with a girl in tow.

Edward suppressed a small laugh as he thought about the different turn his night had taken in comparison to his friends and band mates.

They always seemed surprised that he didn't take advantage of their growing fame the way that they all did.

There had even been talk of whether or not he might be gay. The general consensus on this was no he wasn't, he was just very private about things. Ethan was still betting yes though, even though all the other boys were saying no. His main arguments seemed to be from what Edward had heard, that he didn't chat the fans up as often as the others, that he couldn't drink as much as the others before throwing up and he didn't seem to eat very much especially around the other guys, and Ethan truly believed that only girls and gay guys worried about their weight.

When Edward had first heard these thoughts in Ethan's mind he had laughed so much that if he could have cried there would have been tears streaming down his face. The guy was seriously out of touch with reality!

Just as Edward was thinking about all of this there was a knock at the door.

He listened out and heard a multitude of voices outside including all of his band mates who must all be up and about finally.

Thinking that it was Aiden come to gloat, he called out "_come in"_, closed off his mind so he didn't have to hear his friend's thoughts about the girl h had slept with the night before and scooted down so he was lying flat on the bed facing the window on the opposite wall to the door. He really wasn't in the mood to see the smug look on Aiden's face.

He decided he couldn't ignore him forever so he turned over just in time to see not his band mate standing in the doorway but a woman only a few years older than he appeared to be. She was wearing a maid's outfit and behind her he could see a bucket of cleaning supplies.

The smell of her blood carried across the room and as she took in his pale skin and unusually coloured eyes he could smell the fear seeping into it.

It made the scent even stronger and even though he wasn't thirsty after his hunt last night, he could feel the venom starting to flow faster into his mouth and he knew that his eyes would be turning black as she stood there rooted to the spot.

"_Housekeeping"_ she managed to croak out, never once taking her eyes off Edward.

Edward for his part lay very still on the bed barely even breathing. Mentally he was fighting with the monster that resided within him.

The monster was willing him to leap up off the bed and sink his teeth through the delicate skin on her neck and allow the exquisite taste of her to fill his mouth.

This part was battling against the rational part that knew this would be too risky, that it could be traced back to him far too easily.

The housekeeper's thoughts interrupted this suddenly as he realised he wasn't actively blocking her thoughts; his mind had been too busy battling with itself to concentrate on blocking her as well.

'_Don't be stupid, there's nothing to be scared of. Just do your job and get out of here. I'm sure Bill mentioned that we had some band staying last night. The contacts must be part of his look. Judging by the look of him he probably had too much to drink after the how and passed out with them in last night.'_ Outwardly she gave a slight shake as if she was trying to bring herself out of a daze and finally reached around to grab the supplies she had stashed by the door.

Edward stayed motionless on the bed staring at the ceiling, the rational part of his brain was hoping that she would do whatever she needed to do quickly and leave, the monster telling him that her blood smelled much better than what he had had last night and that he should get up and close the door behind her.

Edward was so distracted by the internal struggle going on that he wasn't paying attention to where she was headed until he heard a noise from the side of the room and realised that she was at the window opening the curtains.

He shot off the bed and over to the far side of the bed much faster than any human could ever move but it made no difference.

Sunlight was now streaming into the room.

**A/N: I know it's a bit on the short side but the next chapter is nearly written and will be up soon and for Bella fans out there we will be finding out what she is up to in a couple chapters.**

**Hope you enjoyed! Let me know either way.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed my cliff hanger! Sorry for leaving you hanging like that but here is the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Twilight is owned by Stephenie Meyer not me. I just play with Edward and the others sometimes.**

What the hell had she done that for?

Didn't she realise that the curtains were closed for a reason?

Every other hotel or even motel Edward had ever stayed in the housekeepers just changed the towels and emptied the bins if the guests were still in the room, maybe at the most they would clean the bathroom floor and surfaces.

He looked at the girl who appeared to be frozen in shock with one hand still on the curtains, her eyes huge and her mouth a perfect 'o' of shock.

What was he going to do?

He had never been in this situation before, he had always been so careful no human had ever come close to finding out his secret. Well at least not one who stood a chance of being able to escape and tell people his secret.

'_Take her'_ the monster screamed in his head. _'It's the only way.'_

The scent of her blood was now overwhelming him completely; he had to hold his breath to even have a chance at a rational thought.

Was there a way he could explain this to her or make her think that she was imagining things?

'_No'_ screamed the monster in him again _'there is no way to know for sure that she won't tell someone.' _

Edward was determined that this woman did not have to die, he was sure he could find a way to convince her that everything was okay. He wanted them both to come out of this situation intact and go on with their lives they way they had been meant to before she walked into his motel room.

This determination was put to the test when she suddenly spoke up again _"what is going on? What are you? You must be some kind of a demon!"_ At this point Edward noticed the crucifix around her neck, partially hidden by her housekeeper's uniform. He also heard the prayers that were running through her head asking God to help her get out of this safely.

Suddenly her thoughts changed as something else must have suddenly occurred to her, something that meant more to her than even her religious beliefs.

She was suddenly thinking about what this would mean for her if she exposed him to the world _'I could earn millions from the TV and magazine interviews! And imagine the photo shoots! I'm sure the government would be very interested in him as well. I wonder what he is or has done to end up like this.' _The girl was now thinking about how rich and famous he could make her. This was unbelievable! How could that be her main thought? He was trying not to kill her and she was thinking about how much money she could earn from revealing his deeply held secret. He really would never understand humans no matter how much time he spent around them.

Edward let out a low growl and in an instant he was next to the girl breathing his sweet intoxicating breath into her face leaving her even more unable to move than she was before; except for the slight lean towards him that she did as she breathed in his scent that he knew would have this effect on her. It was one of the many ways that they had of luring in their prey, ways that were entirely superfluous considering the fact that there was no chance of any human out running them.

He knew that he had a chance at making he forget what she had seen, he could use those powers he held over humans to affect her memory. He could leave her barely able to remember where she was never mind what had happened, but it wasn't an exact science and it had more affect on some people than others.

The monster inside him had other ideas though and the monster had pretty much taken over by now.

The smell of her blood filling the room was too much for him to bear with the anger that her thoughts about fame and fortune at his expense had stirred up in him and he found himself leaning in towards her as if he was planning on kissing her. At the last second as his lips were about to meet hers his hand reached up and turned her face away from his, pulling it slightly to the side so her neck was fully exposed.

He leant down that last fraction of an inch until his lips made contact with the skin of her throat and he breathed in the aroma as his teeth pierced the skin.

Her blood was flowing freely into his mouth but he knew that he wouldn't be able to drain her completely after his filling meal last night.

Edward pulled back and looked at her, watching her blood run from the wound on her neck staining the front of her maid's uniform.

Should he change her? Could he? These thoughts circled around in his head as he looked at her.

No. He was not willing to do that to another person, steal their soul away from them they way his had been and condemn them to the same life he led. A life of secrets and shadows, never getting close to people, the loneliness that he endured.

A selfish part of him also knew that he didn't want to take responsibility for a newborn, he was a mostly solitary creature and he didn't relish the idea of this woman being around him constantly for the next few years until she learned the ways of her new existence.

With those thoughts swirling around in his head he stepped back towards her and swiftly reached his hands up and ended her life with a quick twist of his hands on her face.

Just as he let go and watched her lifeless body fall to the floor he heard the door knock for a second time that morning.

This time he knew that it was Aiden; he opened his mind up and heard the smug thoughts about last night's conquest coming from the other side of the door.

He knew with Aiden's blatant disregard for privacy and the fact that the door was still unlocked from when the housekeeper had entered that he had about 10 seconds before he walked straight in, invite or not.

Edward quickly ran through all the possible ways he could hide the body. He knew he couldn't hide it in the bathroom – Aiden was likely to wander in there to admire his reflection as he was talking, he couldn't drop it out the window – that could bring its own set of attention so he did the only thing he could do.

He picked up the girl's body and gently placed her in the bed, covering her with the blankets so it looked like she was sleeping.

He then walked over to the door, quickly looked over the room to make sure that there was no blood visible and then opened the door to his band mate.

He saw Aiden's eyes scan the room over Edward's shoulder, taking in the pale haired girl in the bed. A look of shock and approval appeared in his eyes.

Edward suddenly found himself being clapped on the back _"sorry dude, didn't mean to disturb, I thought you would have got too wasted last night to do anything. Guess I was wrong. Don't remember her from the crowd, but then again I didn't stick around long! See you later, I figure you won't be joining us today hey?"_ He just shook his head and practically slammed the door in Aiden's face he was so eager to get rid of him.

At least now he knew that the others wouldn't come and try to get him to join them today, Aiden would be spreading the news of Edward's 'conquest' like a gossipy housewife.

Now he just had to figure out what to do with the body.

He needed something that would easily explain a fair amount of blood loss and a broken neck. He thought about it for a while as he paced up and down the room, he had already faked a mugging gone wrong last night so it would have to be something completely different so the crime rate didn't soar too much.

He suddenly struck on the perfect idea and immediately went about faking the scene.

By the time he had finished the motel looked entirely to blame with their faulty balcony railings which had given way allowing the maid who had been cleaning the windows to fall to her death. Her family could probably sue if they chose to, the evidence was that good.

Edward checked out of his room before the others were back from their day out and was waiting for them on the bus on their return.

He claimed tiredness, at which all the other started laughing and making crude comments about him being kept up all night, and went and lay down in his bunk.

As soon as he closed his eyes to fake sleep though he saw her face staring at him as she had when the sunlight had hit him.

**A/N: next chapter will be from Bella's POV. So no more Edward for a while but don't worry we will be back with him before you know it!**

**Hope you all enjoyed and remember to let me know. Reading all your lovely reviews makes my heart soar!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, my heart really did soar when I read them!**

**So here you go – the next chapter! We get to see what Bella is like in a world without the perfect Edward at her high school. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Nope not mine, they all still belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing with them for a while.**

**BPOV**

Bella wiggled her fingers and flexed her wrist a few times, a smile spreading across her face in satisfaction.

It felt so good to be free of that cast at long last.

She looked up from examining her wrist and smiled even more at the blindingly handsome doctor who had cared for her this time, along with the many other times she had landed herself in the hospital with her accident prone ways.

"_Thank you again Dr Cullen. You always seem to make things less painful than I expect them to be."_

"_That's alright, Bella, but let's try for more than a month before I see you in here again. Okay?" _Dr Cullen said with a slight chuckle.

"_I'll definitely do my best. As much as you make things less painful I always seem to pick the most painful ways to end up in here." _Bella blushed as she said this and even more so when she looked up and saw the doctor smiling at her fondly.

Dr Cullen was referring to the fact that she had been living in Forks for less than a year but her clumsiness had meant that she had been in the hospital more than half a dozen times since the move.

Each time Dr Cullen had treated her and everything had hurt way less than it had done with her usual doctor back in Phoenix.

Even after being treated by him so many times, Bella still couldn't believe that he had chosen a career in medicine when he could have been a film star, he was that good looking. Though she was very glad that he had, he was always incredibly gentle and he didn't laugh when the sight of blood made her pass out.

Charlie walked in jut then and interrupted Bella's thoughts. He walked over and extended a hand to help her down off the bed, which she managed with only a slight wobble as her feet met the floor. She felt that blush creep back into her cheeks.

"_Ready to go Bells?"_

"_Sure dad, I think were all done." _Bella had been through this experience enough times to know.

Charlie turned to Dr Cullen who was filling in the last bits of Bella's notes. _"Thanks again Dr Cullen. I'm sure we must be keeping you in business since Bella moved in."_

Dr Cullen laughed again at this _"I'm not sure what we did to fill our days before you moved here, Bella."_

Bella felt herself blushing for the third time in five minutes. _"Come on dad, don't you have to get back to work soon?"_

They made their way out of the hospital and over to Charlie's police cruiser and got in. Bella really wished she had persuaded him to drive her truck to the hospital but Charlie wouldn't hear of it, he didn't understand her embarrassment at being driven around in a police car.

Charlie dropped Bella off at home, there was no point in taking her back to school, there was only 45 minutes left of the day and they both knew that on a Friday afternoon this close to the end of the school year very little work would be getting done.

Just as he was about to pull away Bella shouted out to him _"don't forget I'm going to Port Angeles with the girls when they get out of school so I probably won't be back in time for dinner. Angela said we would probably eat while we were out."_

"_Sure, Bells I think I can manage for one evening without you. Just don't be too late and stay out of trouble okay?"_ With that he pulled out and started off back to the station to finish his shift.

Bella decided to grab a quick shower before the others got there; it had been too long since she had been able to have a proper shower without having to stick a plastic bag over her arm. She quickly scrubbed herself clean and then grabbed her favourite shampoo and worked it into a lather enjoying the scent of strawberries that it released.

After rinsing all of the shampoo out she grabbed her towel and went back to her room to get dressed. She looked at the meagre selection of clothing in her dresser and longed for the days of living in Phoenix when her wardrobe had been full if shorts and strappy tops, here it was all jeans and long sleeves.

She grabbed the first pair of jeans she came across and a pale blue shirt and got dressed quickly knowing that the girls would be here to pick her up soon.

She was just finishing drying her hair when she heard a car horn beep outside so she tied it up into a ponytail and ran down the stairs, only tripping on the last step.

Bella really wasn't looking forward to this – shopping was not her favourite pastime, but Jessica had insisted that they all go get new outfits for their evening out next week. Just as she had insisted that they all go shopping for their prom dresses together.

Bella hadn't wanted to go then either, in fact she really hadn't wanted to go to the prom last weekend either but it had been decided that they would all go as a group – no dates just friends and it had actually worked out okay. Jessica had set her sights on one of the guys in their group, Mike Newton and had spent the entire flirting with him and Bella had managed to avoid dancing the whole night. So all in all it had been a success and she was hoping her good fortune would hold out for a while longer, until next weekend at least. She was looking forward to this concert and didn't want to end up back in the hospital so soon after getting her cast off.

Pulling herself back to the present, Bella realised that this was going to be a repeat of last time, Jessica wanted them all to go shopping together so that she could make sure that she had the best outfit so she got the most attention even though she was now supposed to be dating Mike after the prom she still appeared to be keeping her options open.

Bella had realised long ago that this was the kind of friend Jessica was, as long as things were going her way then she was great but if anyone was getting more attention than her then evil Jessica would make an appearance, usually at some poor girl's expense.

This arrangement worked fine for Bella though, anything to take the attention away from her. She was more than happy being in the background.

Bella shuddered remembering her first week of school at Forks High; it was such a small school that it had been big news when she had transferred in. All eyes had been on her but thankfully Jessica had come to her rescue. She had befriended her on her first day and invited her to eat lunch with her friends, saving from having to eat alone which would have guaranteed her more stares.

Since that day she had been accepted into Jessica's group of friends and the only time she had to sit alone was in her Biology class after lunch and that was only because there had been an even number of students in the class before she joined and everyone had paired up by the time she transferred. This didn't bother Bella though, she had already done most of the work they were doing back at her old high school in Phoenix.

Bella climbed into the back of the car and smiled and greeted the three other girls already seated – Jessica was driving of course, Lauren, who agreed with everything said and did anything she wanted her to do was sat on the passenger seat and Angela was in the back.

Bella smiled wider at Angela, out of the group she was the one Bella got on best with. She was much quieter and more thoughtful than the other two. She was the only one who hadn't bombarded her with questions about why she had moved and what she had left behind. Jessica was obsessed with Bella's none existent romantic life, she assumed that there must have been someone special back in Phoenix because Bella hadn't shown much interest in the guys at school even when they were practically throwing themselves at her. Bella had repeatedly insisted that there wasn't but Jessica wasn't having any of it, she didn't seem to understand the concept of not having a boyfriend all the time or at least having lots of crushes that you could giggle over with your girlfriends.

The trip to Port Angeles went pretty quickly, and soon they were pulling up by the same department store they had gone to in their hunt for prom dresses.

Jessica led them inside and was quickly scanning the racks of mini skirts and little tops. Bella went straight to the jeans, with her tendency to fall over a skirt would not be a good plan, plus she wanted something she could wear on a regular basis considering the state of her dresser earlier she really needed some new clothes.

She quickly picked out a comfy looking pair and went in search of a top to go with them, passing Jessica and Lauren on her way both of them holding several short skirts and tops that looked like they would barely cover anything. At the tops she saw Angela who seemed to be having the same thoughts as Bella, comfortable, more practical clothes than the slips of fabric the other two were looking at.

Eventually they met up at the changing rooms and tried on their choices for each other. Both Jessica and Lauren ended up with denim mini skirts and tight fitting t-shirts. Angela chose a dark blue pair of jeans and a black shirt that could be dressed up with some nice jewellery. Bella picked out a similar pair of jeans, a light blue t-shirt and a navy blue hoody to go over the top on the way there. Blue it appeared was her favourite colour today.

After they had all picked out accessories for their outfits and paid they decided to stop by the small music store before heading over to the Italian place for dinner.

By this point Bella had to admit that girl time wasn't actually that bad, they had all had fun trying on different outfits and Jessica was in a good mood talking about all the things that had happened at prom and what was going to happen next weekend.

In the record store Bella immediately went in search of the CD of the band hat they were going to see next week. She had heard of them in passing but knew very little about them and wanted to learn some more before the concert. She knew that they had been getting good reviews for their first couple of singles but she didn't really listen to the radio a whole lot so she didn't really know what they sounded like. She had only agreed to go because it was going to be in celebration of the end of the school year and the whole group was going.

She found the CD in the rock section of the store and picked it up looking at the name of the band and the artwork on the front. _Fading Sun was_ written across the top of a picture of a sun setting into the sea making it look like the water was on fire. The album title was written underneath in elegant script '_Hiding in Plain Sight'_.

Bella took the CD over to where the other were looking at the new releases, _"I'm gonna get this so I can at least know a little about the band we're going to go see"_ she said and went to pay.

Charlie had been true to his word about coping without her for one evening; he had ordered himself a pizza and settled in front of the TV to what some sports. He offered Bella some of the pizza that was left but Bella declined; she was full from the ravioli she had eaten at the Italian restaurant she had gone to with the girls after they had finished all their shopping.

After saying goodnight to Charlie she headed up to her room and pulled out the CD she had bought, put it on softly and lay down on her bed to listen. She wasn't expecting to enjoy it that much, the name sounded like something Phil, her mother's new husband, would like and she didn't share his taste in music.

The music filled her room and she found herself enjoying it very much, the singer had the most amazing voice, rough but smooth like velvet all at the same time. She could almost feel the pain in the words that he was singing. She picked up the case to see if there was a picture of the band so she could put a voice to this amazing voice. There was but the faces were all half in the shadows so she could barely make out any features.

Bella gave up, she was going to have to wait till next Saturday to find out what they looked like, and lay back against her pillows, relaxing as the voice filled her ears and fell soundly to sleep, his voice the last thing she heard.

**A/N: I know I didn't do anything different with her but I just thought she should stay as she is. I do have a reason but you will have to wait and see.**

**Hope you enjoyed, let me know!!! I like reviews they make me shout and jump up and down and that disturbs my husband from his computer games so help me out here!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter, they make me so happy! So here is the next chapter for you to enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm still not Stephenie Meyer, no matter how hard I wish so Twilight and all its characters do not belong to me.**

**EPOV**

Edward was extremely glad that their next show was in Seattle where the weather was predicted to be cloudy for the two days that they were going to be there; staying on the bus or at the least away from the humans was giving him way too much time to think. Usually he enjoyed the solitude, not having to hear the trivial thoughts of all those around him and pretend that he was the same as them was a relief. But not at the moment. No, right now he would give anything for the distractions because every time he allowed his mind to wander the maid's face would be right there in front of his eyes. Every time he had to feign sleep she was there waiting for him, behind his eyelids.

It was really starting to bother him. He had killed countless people during his existence and he had barely spared a thought for any of them after the deed had been done. So what was it about this one that was so different? What was it that caused her to haunt him every second?

He had done what was needed in the situation but deep down he knew what the difference was.

He had always tried to be less of a monster by hunting people that society would be better off without but this girl had only been a threat to him and his secret. She had held no malice in her for any of her fellow humans, she was not destined to hurt anyone she was just incredibly thoughtless and shallow. She had only thought of fame and fortune.

Edward couldn't decide if this put her in the monster category or not. She wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally but if she had exposed his secret then people would have got killed no doubt about it. For if his secret had got out and word had spread then it would undoubtedly have attracted the attention of the Volturi – the vampire equivalent of the royal family – and if they got involved then a lot of people would have gotten killed. Edward himself would not have been allowed to survive their visit, he would have been considered responsible for the whole situation for not hiding his secret better. That was the most basic rule that the Volturi set – humans must not be allowed to know of the existence of vampires.

Even though he knew all of this it didn't stop him thinking about the girl and questioning himself over and over whether he could have done anything to prevent what had happened. He had never been so happy to leave a town as he had that one.

Thankfully his dark thoughts were interrupted by Noah bounding over to where he was sat on the bus looking out at the dark sky. _"Hey Edward, guess what I just heard? The show tomorrow night is sold out! Can you believe it? Our first sell out! We're really starting to get somewhere!"_

Edward was happy with the news but he also knew that the more people there were the more difficult it became for him to control himself. Not that he really needed to hunt at the moment, the events of last week had more than filled him, but it was always difficult to be surrounded by the smell of blood. There was also the problem of tuning out so many voices while still concentrating on the songs.

Edward sometimes wondered why he did this to himself, it was so difficult but then again so was being completely alone for so long. This way he got to be around people but on his terms with barriers to stop them getting too close. The other guys in the band had almost become a surrogate family to him and even though he kept himself private he enjoyed knowing that they were there.

Noah was still practically jumping up and down in the seat next to Edward so he turned to him with a big smile _"Wow, that's great news! See I told you we would make it, now we just need to start making some money so we can get a bigger tour bus! The smell needs more space to dissipate!" _Edward joked. The others were completely immune to the smells they all created, and Edward himself was starting to get used to the human smells he was surrounded by everyday on the bus.

The bus started to slow down and both Edward and Noah turned to look out of the window to see the quality of the place they would be staying in for the next two nights, it was a rare luxury to be allowed two nights off the bus and all thoughts had been on what the place would be like since they had left the motel last week.

Edward was pleasantly surprised with the hotel when it came into view; it was much nicer than the last few places that they had stayed in, not five star luxury but better than the flea pits of late. He wondered if this was because the album had been doing well since the start of the tour.

At the same time as being pleased with the hotel Edward was apprehensive, good hotels could only possibly equal one thing in the other guy's minds – major partying after the gig tomorrow. The guys would not miss an opportunity to try and impress some fans.

As soon as the bus pulled up Edward was up, he wanted to be the one to check them in. He knew that there was going to be three twin rooms and one single, he had read their managers thoughts on the way in and he wanted to make sure that he was the one to get the single even though their manager was hoping to have that one himself. He would have to share with Pete the bus driver. Edward didn't feel guilty for this, he knew that they would get on they were quite similar despite their very different jobs.

Edward got lucky with the rooms, not only did he mange to get the single but it was also on a different floor to the others. He was exceptionally glad, he didn't want to hear the noises that would be coming from the other's rooms tomorrow night and usually with his extra sensitive hearing he didn't have much choice.

He grabbed the key before anyone could argue and rushed up the stairs with his bag. He had heard Aiden's thoughts about the room situation and he wasn't happy.

After setting his bag down on the bed he went back out of the hotel to explore the city for a while whilst the others got dinner. It was easier to say he had got food while out than to sit there not eating and have them start on the whole eating disorder thing again.

He wandered around for a while taking in the sights and sounds of the city around him but he really wasn't in the mood for his own company so pretty quickly he turned around and headed back.

He found the guys exactly where he knew they would be without needing to read their thoughts, the bar.

They all turned towards him smiling and he could read in their thoughts that they were all glad he had joined them; they had been worried about him this past week. They were all used to his moods but they sensed that this was different, something more than his usual secretiveness.

Edward put on his best fake smile and joined them at the table excusing his absence as a need of some air after being stuck on the bus. He offered to get the next round of drinks in and they all gladly accepted. He walked over to the bar knowing that even though he only looked seventeen he would have no problem being served.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur as Edward watched the rest of his band get more and more drunk. Eventually he had to help carry Noah to his room and the rest of the guys called it a night and went to bed.

Edward made his way up to his room actually glad of the chance for some quiet after spending the night in the noisy bar.

As soon as he lay down on his bed though his mind started on its' usual path, bringing the maid's face up and thinking about what he could have done differently. He was actually starting to question his own sanity this was getting so bad. He tried distracting himself by thinking about tomorrow nights sell out gig.

**BPOV**

Bella was lay in her bed trying to sleep but finding it impossible. She wired after all the end of year excitement that had been happening at school today and she was nervous about tomorrow night.

She knew that it was likely that her accident prone ways would land her in trouble at a packed gig full of people pushing and jostling, she just hoped that it would be nothing major she didn't fancy another trip to the hospital so soon.

After laying there for what seemed like hours she leaned over to her bedside table and grabbed the portable CD player that was sat there. She put the headphones in and pressed play and immediately her head was full of his voice.

The sound of his velvet voice soon soothed her into sleep.

Her dreams were full a mysterious man whose face she couldn't quite see no matter how hard she tried. He seemed to be following her as she walked through the forest outside her home but every time she turned around to confront him he vanished leaving no trace.

She woke up to the first rays of light tangled in her sheets with the dream still clearly etched on her mind.

**A/N: I know that it's a bit evil but the next chapter is going to be from Alice's POV. It was going to be part of this one but it just looked wrong. Sorry about that but it is important and we will get back to the gig as soon as possible. Hope you all enjoyed the Edward angst. Let me know if I went overboard.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: okay so I need to clear up a few things that came up in the reviews before I can start this chapter. Firstly, Alice-in-wonderland 101 pointed out that putting the conversations in italics makes it look like they are thoughts good point! I didn't think of that when I started. So now only thoughts (or visions) will be in italics. Secondly, the whole thing of calling the concert a gig, sorry this is my Englishness coming through. Over here we call concerts held in small venues like clubs gigs, concerts are the ones held in big arenas. Sorry for the confusion. Anyway now that they are cleared up on it's with the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Seriously have you guys not got the message yet? Me not Stephenie Meyer pouts**

**APOV**

Alice pulled up outside the beautiful house that she considered to be home more than anywhere they had lived before, this house in the almost entirely sunless town of Forks just seemed right, after another long and pointless day at high school. She was extremely grateful that it had been the last day of term today so she had the entire summer ahead of her to spend with her family.

She understood that she had to play her part in their human charade, but a lifetime of high school was too much to bear sometimes.

Today had been particularly bad; Jasper had not been there to make the day go by faster. Even though they were in different grades, knowing that he was near and seeing him at lunch always made the day seem shorter.

Of course she understood why he hadn't been there today; she had been the one that had encouraged him to go hunting instead.

Out of the whole family he was the one who struggled the most with their dietary choices. He still found it extremely difficult to resist human blood so he couldn't go as long between hunts as the others could especially today with all the excitement of end of year making the human children's blood pump faster around their bodies and therefore smell more appetising. He also needed to prepare for Monday, for Graduation where he would be surrounded by so many emotions. He was trying but it was just harder for him. Alice was so proud of him for trying and was honoured that he would do this just for her. This didn't stop her monitoring his future just to be safe.

As soon as she walked through the front door into the spacious living room her mind was taken over with a vision.

She came to a few seconds later to see Esme standing on the other side of the room watching her. "Is everything okay Alice? What did you see?"

Alice's face broke into a huge grin "Jasper is on his way home, I will see him in less than two hours."

Esme laughed at Alice's sudden exuberance but Alice knew that she was glad that her mood had lifted so much. Esme was the only mother Alice had ever known and she knew that it made her happy to see her children so content with their lives.

Alice sped up to her bedroom and went straight towards the walk in wardrobe. She needed to find the perfect outfit to welcome Jasper home in. She rifled through the enormous closet until she found just the right thing, a silk underwear set that complimented her pale skin beautifully and a long silk and chiffon dress that hinted at designer origins in its simple lines and flattering cut.

Even though she knew that Jasper wouldn't care what she was wearing she still liked to dress up to welcome him home when they had been apart.

She had just finished dressing and applying her make up when she heard the roar of Emmett's Jeep approaching the house. He was home!

Alice flew down the stairs and out of the front door before the Jeep had even made it up the driveway. As soon as he stopped she raced over and wrenched open the driver's door eager to see her husband.

Jasper stepped down from the Jeep and they stared intently into each others eyes for a few seconds before she felt his strong arms around her, lifting her into a hug. She looked down briefly only to realise that her feet were about a foot off the floor. She looked back up into Jasper's light topaz eyes and smiled "I missed you" she whispered knowing full well that her would hear.

"I missed you too. Did I mention that you look beautiful? Is that new?" he asked motioning to the dress she was wearing without letting her out of the tight hug.

Alice giggled, nothing got past Jasper. "Just a little something I picked up while I was out with Rosalie."

Jasper groaned but at the same time he wanted his wife to be happy and shopping certainly seemed to make her happy. He couldn't even complain about the amount of money that she spent. With all the time in the world on their hands and his beautiful wife's ability to predict the stock market trends they probably had more money than they would ever need. Even if they did live forever.

Jasper slowly let her down out of the hug and led her into the house. Once they were inside Alice turned back towards her husband "speaking of shopping, Rosalie really wants us all to go tomorrow to look for new outfits for Monday. You know how she likes to be centre of attention and graduation is the prefect time for her to show off."

Jasper groaned again but Alice knew that he would agree to come eventually and that they would find him the prefect suit to wear on the day.

At the thought of graduation Alice grew extremely sad and she felt the smile she had been wearing since Jasper's arrival fall from her face. Jasper must have noticed this because she suddenly found herself sat on his lap on the couch, his arms wrapped tightly around her. "What is it Alice, what's wrong?"

"I just realised that next year I'm going to be all on my own" she stated sadly. It had just hit her that she was in a different grade to the others and next year they would not be there to make the days go by faster, they would all be free while she still had to serve out another year at high school. She knew that if she could cry then at this moment she would be.

Jasper pulled her to him even tighter. "Its okay baby, I'll be here everyday when you get home. It won't be so bad and then when it is over we can go away somewhere just the two of us. A little holiday, how does that sound?"

Alice's spirits started to lift at the words he was whispering into her hair.

She was pulled out of her thoughts of holidays by the sound of the door crashing open and Emmett and Rosalie bursting through giggling.

"Should I even ask what you two have been up to or is it better I don't know" Esme's voice sounded from the back garden.

Alice called back "its best you don't ask, I saw it all and now I don't think I will ever get that image out of my head." She shuddered at the thought of what they had got up to on their way back from school.

Emmett and Rosalie joined them on the couch and Emmett immediately started questioning Jasper on his hunting trip, how it had gone and what he had caught. This was an ongoing thing with Emmett, he was so competitive that he even wanted to catch the most or the biggest on their hunting trips.

Rosalie turned to Alice and Started talking about where they were going to shop tomorrow and what they were going to buy.

Suddenly everything around her disappeared as another vision took over her mind. _'There is someone coming, another one of their kind, vampire, but one that still feeds on humans, his eyes have the red tinge that gives it away. He seems to be following someone, a girl, hunting her. He has followed her here to their town but he seems unsure of what he is doing as if this is new to him. Suddenly the image changes and she sees Emmett holding the other vampire down, stopping him from what he was planning to do.'_

Just as suddenly as it started the vision is over as she realises that she is gripping onto Jasper's shoulders while everyone looks on, their expressions concerned. As they see her come round they all start asking her what she has seen.

"I think I need to talk to everyone together about this. Esme, when is Carlisle due home?" she called out.

Esme walked in from the back garden then "he's due home any minute actually."

Everyone sat on the couches waiting for the head of their family to arrive home. Soon enough they heard his car pull up and he appeared in the lounge.

"What's going on? It's unusual to see you all sitting in the same room so quietly. Is everyone okay?" Carlisle asked scanning the faces of each of them in turn.

Alice spoke up "Actually we were waiting for you to get home. I've had a vision and I wanted to share it with all of you at the same time." She looked up at Carlisle and saw the look of concern in his eyes. She knew whet he would be thinking, when she got everyone together like this it usually meant trouble and possibly them needing to move again.

"I'm not sure exactly what this means, but I saw someone coming her to Forks. One of our kind but not a vegetarian. He seemed to be stalking someone, a girl. I think that it was chief Swan's daughter but I couldn't see her very well. He seemed unsure, the vampire, like a newborn but I don't think he was. His actions seemed chaotic as if he kept changing his mind. The weirdest thing is I saw Emmett holding him down, stopping him from doing something." She rushed the words out wanting everyone to know so they could figure out what was going on and why they were involved.

"When is this going to happen?" Carlisle asked her.

"I'm not sure exactly, but soon I think. Within the next couple of weeks. Sorry I can't be more exact."

"That's okay" Carlisle responded "just keep an eye on things and let me know what else comes of this. Now I don't think we should worry too much about this for now but I want everyone to be on the lookout for anything strange in town. And I think it would be a good idea if we keep a close eye on Bella Swan just in case she is involved in this somehow, she seems to be very accident prone and I don't want her to be back in the hospital again because of us."

Everyone nodded their assent to this plan, there was nothing to get too worried over now but they all agreed with Carlisle that they should be more observant for now. Alice looked over at Emmett and saw that he actually looked excited at the prospect of the fight. She knew she shouldn't be surprised by this but somehow she was, they still didn't know exactly what they would be going up against or why.

Alice sat back on the couch and pulled her legs up so she could rest her chin on her knees as she tried to focus on what she hadn't seen in her first vision.

As she closed her eyes to concentrate she heard Rosalie's voice in he quiet of the room "Don't any of you think that this gets you out of shopping tomorrow, Alice said it could be anytime during the next couple of weeks and I am not going to graduation on Monday with any of you in old clothes."

**A/N: just to let you guys know, I'll try and get another chapter out this week but it is my birthday on Saturday so I have lots of planning to do. Hope you all enjoyed my attempt at Alice let me know! Remember I like reviews; they would be the perfect birthday present.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry about being mean with the last chapter but it is important for the story. This chapter is back to Edward so enjoy!**

**EPOV**

Saturday morning came with overcast skies just as the weather forecast had promised and Edward decided to take advantage of this fact. He was feeling slightly more cheerful after his evening with his band mates, watching them get drunk and foolish always lightened his mood. They were invariably silly drunks rather than morose and their antics last nights had been up there with the all time highs.

Edward got up from where he had lain looking out of the window all night and headed for the shower. The feeling of the warm water on his icy skin lifted his mood further. He loved feeling the warmth on his skin. He stood in the shower until the water started to cool and then went to find something to wear.

He knew that his band wasn't yet famous enough for him to be recognised in the street, especially considering the fact that he had convinced the photographer who had been hired for the artwork on their album that it would be artistic if their faces were obscured. But even knowing this he still dressed to blend in with the Saturday crowd.

Edward rang down to their manager's room and left a message to let him know that he would be out for the day and that he would see them at the venue later for the sound check.

The streets were slowly filling up with shoppers as Edward wandered around. All around him were families with excited children, groups of teenagers glad of the weekend and couples absorbed in their worlds where only they existed.

Edward looked at all of them and wondered if there was something wrong with him, something missing from his genetic makeup. Everyone seemed to want to be with other people, he felt complete in himself. He had never felt that need to be constantly surrounded by a group of friends and the idea of loving one other person completely baffled him. He had lost one family to the influenza that should have taken him and he had chosen to leave another but the loneliness that he had expected to engulf him had never really come. Occasionally he would feel a longing to have someone to share his existence with but he convinced himself he was better off as he was. He always had the other band members to distract him if it got too bad, though he would never admit that he needed them.

After watching the crowds for most of the morning Edward decided to do some actual shopping. Unlike the rest of the guys he didn't have to rely on the meagre allowance that the record company gave them to live on. He had inherited his parent's estate and that along with the money he had acquired from other, less legal, ways, meant that he was fairly well off.

He walked into a fairly upmarket men's clothing store with the intention of getting himself some new stage clothes but he was immediately distracted by four of the other customers – two couples, all of them vampires.

He stood frozen just inside the shop doorway. They were all turned away from him looking through the racks of suits but he knew that when they stopped concentrating on them they would realise that he was there. He felt torn, should he turn around and leave now before they notice him or should he wait and see what their reaction to him was?

He had to admit that he was intrigued by the group; it was unusual to see so many of his kind in one group. From what he had been told and from his own fairly limited experiences he was sure that vampires usually travelled alone or at most with a mate.

This group all seemed to be happy together, arguing and joking about what kind of suits the two males should buy. Edward listened in to their thoughts and realised that they were all attending high school and that three of them – the big muscular male and the two blonds, one male and one female would be graduating on Monday.

Edward wondered how they were able to attend school, to be surrounded by that many people everyday without being found out. Surely they must be tempted by all those humans all the time. He knew that he would not have that kind of restraint, sometimes it was difficult just to be around his band and there were only four of them and their blood did not appeal to him.

He had a sudden impulse to ask them what their secret was, how they had so much self control. He had only ever met one person who had self control like that and that was because of his dietary choices and years of self discipline, the man who had changed him and who had been a father figure to him for those first few years after his change. The man he had turned his back on, Carlisle Cullen.

As Edward thought his name a wave of regret washed over him, even after all these years he still hated that he had hurt him. Carlisle had been so good to him, but he had struggled with the restrictions he had placed on him.

When he thought this he saw the tall blond male lean down and whisper something in the tiny dark haired girl's ear, but Edward was too wrapped in his thoughts to hear what was said.

The tiny girl listened intently to what was being said and then turned round as if she was searching for someone in the store but before she could turn in his direction he turned and fled out of the store, ignoring the bewildered look the store clerk was giving him.

As much as he was intrigued by the group he decided that he was not ready to get into a discussion with them, the thoughts of Carlisle and his past way of life had unsettled him.

**APOV**

Alice was concentrating hard on the suits, debating what would be best for Monday when Jasper leaned down and whispered in her ear "there are some really strong emotions going on in here at the moment. I don't know what is going on but I'm suddenly feeling shame, remorse and weirdly a surge of curiosity. It's like someone is projecting their thoughts at us Alice."

She looked up from the suits she was contemplating and looked around the store trying to locate the source of the strong emotions the Jasper had been feeling but there was no one there who seemed to be experiencing any of these emotions, everyone in the store was engrossed in their shopping.

"I'm not sure who it was Jasper, are they still feeling the same?" she asked her husband.

"No the feelings seem to have faded away as suddenly as they started. I think that they must have left the store." Jasper responded turning his attention back to the suits in front of him.

Suddenly the store around her faded as she had another vision _the vampire is here in this town, he will be here for the next few hours. He is waiting for something. Tonight he will meet the girl who will lead him to Forks and the Cullen family. He doesn't know her yet but she will be very important._

Alice felt Jaspers strong arms around her as she came round from the vision. "What did you see Alice? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, the vampire from my vision yesterday is here in town. I don't know why he is, he seems to waiting for something. He will meet Bella tonight somehow. This is frustrating; I'm only seeing bits because things have not yet been decided, no actions have been set in motion yet."

"Well we should probably keep an eye out for him and see what he is doing here, but it doesn't get you out of buying graduation outfits so let's finish up in here and then have a look around." Rosalie said looking slightly annoyed that something may interrupt her shopping trip.

**EPOV**

Edward found himself on the other side of the main shopping area without even realising that he had been rushing away from them. He stopped and looked around to make sure they hadn't decided to follow him after his overreaction in the store but he thankfully found himself alone.

He sat down on a nearby bench and tried to get his thoughts and emotions back in check. He wasn't sure why he had had such a reaction to the group; everything just seemed to be getting to him lately since the incident with the maid. Thinking about Carlisle hadn't helped the situation; Edward generally avoided thinking about him because he started questioning too many things when he did.

Finally he felt himself growing calm again and decided to try again with the shopping. He found a store that looked suitable and stood outside listening for a moment. He checked all the thoughts of the people inside and found they were all human so he entered. The mindlessness of the task of shopping for stage clothing soothed his mind further and he started to forget about the strange group he had seen earlier. He picked out several shirts and walked over to the changing rooms to try them on. Just as he was about to enter he 'heard' the group approaching the store so he ducked into the changing room in front of him and listened to what was being said.

He heard the thoughts of one of the females first _Why are we doing this? Alice doesn't even know what he is going to do. Even if he is going to do something why do we have to get involved? If he comes near us Emmett will stop him, so there's nothing to worry about. Why can't we just carry on with the shopping and go? I need to figure out hair and make up for Monday._

Edward was even more intrigued now, who was she thinking about? Why would they be worried about someone coming to them?

He listened until they gave up on the store and left. He realised that he hadn't tried on any of the shirts that he was still holding, he had been far too intrigued by the thoughts of the group. It appeared that one of them had the power to see the future and had seen something coming to the town that they lived in, but wasn't sure why.

For the second time that day Edward was confused about why people chose to surround themselves with others, this group had shown that it just attracted unwanted attention and possibly even put you in danger.

Realising that it was starting to get late and he needed to get back to the venue for a sound check he gave up on the idea of trying the shirts on and walked over to the cashiers counter with them all. The cashier looked surprised when he placed them all down but he just smiled at her and after staring at him for a few seconds she rang them up. Sometimes it was a gift being able to hear people's thoughts, it meant you could always do or say the right thing to get the reaction that you wanted. Like the cashier for example, Edward could hear the lusty thoughts she was having about him so he knew that giving her a smile would get her to work quicker and she wouldn't look to closely at the credit card he was about to give her.

After paying he left the store and started walking back towards the venue that they would be playing their first sell out gig in this evening. As he walked he passed a smallish restaurant that was full of people enjoying an early dinner. At the table near the window sat a group of teenagers who looked like they may well be in the crowd tonight. They were all laughing and joking, sharing food across the table and just generally enjoying their lives. Once again Edward was struck by that feeling that something was wrong with him. He was perfectly content on his own most of the time, but everyone else including the group of his kind he had encountered today seemed to want to share their lives with others.

He realised that he was staring at the group and shook his head and made a move to walk away. Just as he did one of the girls looked up from the food in front of her and turned towards the window as if she knew he was there.

Before she could catch his eye he turned from the window and set off again for the venue. He didn't want to look like some sort of deranged person who stood outside restaurants staring at people inside.

**BPOV**

The whole group was seated around a slightly too small table in the restaurant Mike had suggested we eat in before the concert and somehow Bella had found herself with Mike on one side of her and Tyler on the other. She tried to concentrate on the conversations going on around her but it was difficult when Mike kept edging towards her in his seat and there was nowhere for he to go to get away from him. On more than one occasion she had nearly fallen off her seat trying to move away and had therefore spent most off the meal blushing much to everyone's amusement.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, sharing each other's food and joking but Bella couldn't join in as much as the others. She always felt uncomfortable with so many people around her, she was just glad once again of Jessica's presence. She always needed to be the centre of attention and tonight was no exception. She seemed to be trying to get Mike's attention away from Bella but it wasn't working out so well, he was determined to keep he trapped in conversation all evening.

Hoping to dissuade him from his efforts she looked away from him at the food she was pushing around on her plate. She was too nervous about the concert later to eat much. She really hoped she didn't fall over or injure herself in some way in front of the whole group as well as countless strangers.

After staring at the plate for a few minutes she needed a change of view so she looked towards the window they were sat by. On the other side she caught sight of an incredibly pale boy of about their age but as soon as she lifted her head completely he turned and rushed away as if she had spooked him somehow.

Bella was curious about why he had been watching them through the window, he had such a strange expression on his face that something made her want to rush after him and reassure him that everything was okay. She sat there thinking about the stranger for a few minutes until Mike made another attempt at conversation with her and she turned back to try and give him her full attention. She really tried to listen to what he was saying to her but her head was full of the strange boy she had seen and she couldn't really concentrate on anything else.

**EPOV**

The sound check went without any hitches and the whole band went back to the tiny dressing room to prepare. Edward could hear the stressed thoughts of his band mates and tried to block them out before they could get to him as well. He know that this gig would be important, it was the biggest on they had done so far and the first one that had sold out he needed to be able to give it his all.

With this in mind he decided to dress dramatically and took out the black shirt he had purchased today. He knew that with his pale skin the contrast would be extreme, and the females in the audience would have an even bigger reaction to him than usual.

Finally the time came to go onstage and Edward followed the others out to face the crowd who were all screaming with all their might, both physically and mentally.

**BPOV**

Finally the band were about to come onstage and Bella had to admit that she was excited; she would finally be able to put a face to that beautiful voice. She had listened to the CD everyday since she had bought it and often found herself falling asleep at night with it still playing softly in her ears.

She would be able to put a face to the voice if they were able to get any closer that was. Somehow the meal had gone on a little longer than they had meant and when they got to the venue there was already a huge queue outside. By the time they had gotten inside the venue was already packed and they had ended up right at the back.

Bella strained her eyes to see past all of the people in front of her but it was no good, she was simply too short to see past them all. She cursed her height, usually it didn't bother her only being 5'4" but tonight it was definitely a disadvantage. She gave up trying to see and resigned herself to listening.

By the time the band had finished their fourth of fifth song Mike had obviously noticed that she wasn't having a very good time as he lent over to her and shouted "Is everything okay Bella? You don't seem to be enjoying yourself."

"It's okay" she responded having to lean up and shout in his ear to be heard over the crowd "I just hoped that we would be closer to the front, I can't really see anything from here."

At this Mike grabbed her hand and started trying to push his way through the crowd "Don't worry Bella, I'll try and get us to the front. I want you to enjoy yourself as much as possible tonight."

Mike pushed and shoved their way through the tightly packed crowd and Bella had to admit that for once she was grateful for his presence. Bella's only job was to try and keep upright in the constantly moving sea of people they were moving through. It looked like they would end up at the front pretty soon and then Bella would be able to look up from where her feet were going and actually see the band for the first time.

The thought filled her with nervous excitement, she wasn't usually one for celebrity crushes like most of the girls she knew but there was something about the lead singer that had her wanting to know more. She wanted to see him and see if he matched the image she had in her head of what he might look like. She wanted to know more than just his name, Edward Masen, the name that had been in her dreams the last week as she fell asleep listening to his sorrowful yet somehow angelic voice.

**EPOV**

The gig started well, the crowd was enthusiastic and the guys were playing better than he had ever known them do. Everyone in the audience was enjoying the songs and he hadn't had to make any changes to the set list.

They had gotten almost to the end of the set and Edward was thoroughly enjoying himself, everything was going perfectly both onstage and off, he knew from the thoughts he had allowed through his concentration that every single person in the room was having a good time and many of the girls had had the reaction he had expected to the sight of him in black.

Everything changed in an instant though when suddenly Edwards head was full of the most luscious scent he had ever smelt. The smell of this person's blood was better than anything he had smelt in his long life and the monster inside was suddenly out in force, writhing and beating to be free demanding that Edward give in to him. The monster didn't care that Edward didn't need to hunt; he wanted whoever the smell was coming from. He wanted to experience that taste filling his mouth. His mouth was instantly completely flooded with venom and his eyes, which had turned black as soon as the smell had hit him, searched the crowd wildly for the source of the smell that would surely be his undoing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight that honour belongs to the wonderful Stepheni****e Meyer. Oh and I don't own Dawn of the dead either that honour belongs to George A Romero.**

Edward hadn't realised that he had stopped singing or that he was gripping the microphone stand in front of him with such force until two things happened almost simultaneously.

First he felt a slight nudge to his ribs, and then as he turned his head to see who it was the microphone stand suddenly snapped from the pressure he was pushing down onto it. One of the bottom pieces of the stand flew across the stage and lodged itself in one of the amps sending a shower of sparks across the side of the stage.

Matthew who had been standing closest to the amp jumped away in shock and narrowly missed falling off the edge of the stage. Once he had regained his balance his eyes turned to join his band mate's in staring at Edward in shock and confusion.

Edward had turned his attention back to the crowd, desperately trying to locate the source of the smell that was still filling his lungs. While doing this he was listening intently to their thoughts and it was obvious that they were torn between thinking the strange antics on stage were all part of some elaborate act and the realisation that something had gone seriously wrong on the stage in front of them.

He wasn't even slightly interested in these thoughts at the moment though, he just needed to know who was torturing him with the appallingly luscious smell.

Edward became vaguely conscious of Noah pulling on his arm and he turned the full force of his dark eyed stare upon his band mate, knowing that underneath the blue contacts he wore to protect his identity his eyes would have turned black.

"What the hell is going on?" Noah whispered, obviously struggling to get the words out under the force of Edward's glare.

Just as he finished getting the words out a roadie appeared at the side of the stage obviously trying to figure out what was going on and more importantly whether the equipment could be salvaged for the rest of the gig.

Ethan took this as his cue and walked over to the microphone that had fallen to the floor and picked it up to address the crowd. The microphone crackled slightly as he began to speak but he managed to make himself heard "As you can see we are having a few technical glitches, so while things get sorted we're gonna go catch our breath but we will be back as soon as possible." He said to the obviously confused crowd before turning and helping Noah to drag Edward off the stage.

Normally two humans would be no match against his vampire strength but Edward was so busy struggling with his inner monster that he allowed himself to be dragged off the stage.

As they got to the edge of the stage, Edward's hands closed around on of the spare guitars that were sitting there and he felt the wood splinter in his hands so he hurled it onto the floor to make it look like that was how he broke it. The others who had been walking slightly ahead of him turned round at the noise and the confusion grew even more pronounced on their faces.

As soon as they were all out of the view of the now disgruntled crowd all their eyes turned to Edward awaiting an explanation for his sudden, bizarre behaviour.

Edward let a low snarl escape from his lips, he was still fighting back against the monster who was screaming that they were collateral damage and no one would care if he killed all of them right now.

The reasonable part of his brain knew that there were too many people milling around the backstage area and that meant that there was too much chance of getting caught in the act. A very tiny part of his brain was also telling him that these were his friends and the closest thing to family he had and he didn't want to kill them. The rest of his brain was ignoring this part.

Slowly the reasonable part of his brain started to take over from the monster, the scent was fading now he was away from the crowds though he could still taste it on the back of his tongue.

Edward lifted his eyes to see that they were all still staring at him, awaiting an explanation for his actions. He was finding it slightly easier to think now that he was away from the crowd but he was still struggling to come up with an answer for them. How could he explain what he had just done without arousing any suspicion?

The silence stretched on as they waited and Edward tried to think of a plausible explanation. Finally his brain landed on just the thing that he knew would work.

"Sorry, the drugs I bought off that guy today must have been dodgy. It was a bad trip is all." He knew enough about this from watching all of them indulge to know what a bad trip could look like.

He had been expecting some sort of anger from them for him potentially messing up the biggest gig they had done so far, but Aiden laughed at this and Edward saw in his thoughts that he was thinking back on some of the things he had been through while tripping. "You weren't seeing the crowd as zombies were you? That happened to me once only I was in a shopping mall; it was like Dawn of the dead" He started laughing even more at the memory and the others all joined in, obviously this was something they had all been witness to.

The tension lifted from the room as all the guys shared memories of bad trips and the hallucinations that had taken place. Edward was just pleased that they had accepted his explanation so easily.

While they were waiting for the all clear from the roadies Edward's mind started wandering to the events that had just taken place. He was confused by the strength of the scent that had been coming from somewhere in the crowd, why was it not there the whole time and why was it so much better than any human had ever smelt to him before.

He was torn; he knew that they were expected to finish the set but what if he had the same reaction again when he got onstage. Would the crowd accept another 'technical glitch'? And the band surely would accept that it was another after affect of the drugs that they thought he had taken.

The longer he spent away from the crowd the more he questioned his own reaction. He had never has that reaction to a human before, maybe it was just the stress of performing in front of such a big crowd or everything that had been going on in his brain since the incident with the maid.

By the time the roadie came to tell them that things were ready onstage Edward had convinced himself that it was nothing, just an overreaction so he joined his band mates in going back towards the stage.

**BPOV**

Bella took the opportunity of the break in the action on the stage to work her way back through the crowd to where they had left the rest of their group. She had been getting crushed by the crowd and was desperately in need of some water before they came back out.

As soon as she reached the rest of them Jessica grabbed her arm and was practically jumping up and down "I can't believe you got all the way to the front! You're so lucky aren't they gorgeous? Though I don't know what was going on just, did you see anything being so close?"

"Um, not really, the singer looked pretty pissed but other than that I really couldn't tell what was going on." Bella felt herself blush as she said this hoping that Jessica wouldn't realise how much of her attention had been trained on the god like vision that was the singer. Bella had realised that her imaginings of what he might look like had not done him any justice at all. He was much better looking than anything her brain could come up with.

Angela pulled Bella back out of the daydream she had fallen into thinking about Edward by asking if she wanted to go get a drink. Bella remembered that this was the reason she had given up her position at the front of the stage and followed her friend over to the bar.

Unfortunately a lot of people had had the same thought as the pair of them so there was quite a queue. Bella and Angela filled the time discussing the various members of the band and the songs that they had played so far. Conversation eventually turned to the bizarre actions that had gone on before the band had left the stage and what could possibly have caused them. As neither of the girls were big gossips they agreed that they would have to wait and see what happened when they came back out onto the stage.

This happened quicker than they were expecting, and they were still waiting to be served when the boys reappeared. Bella also realised that Mike had stayed at the front of the crowd and therefore if she wanted to get back there she would have to try and push through the crowd on her own.

Thinking this she decided to stay where it was safe, with her friends and try and enjoy the rest of the show from the back.

Fortunately some people had moved around since the last time she had been in this position and she could now see the band a little better but she didn't get to pay as much attention to them as she would have liked as she suddenly had Jessica's voice filling her ear "I really want to try and meet the band afterwards, I've heard that if you wait by the back exit they might come out and talk to you afterwards. Lauren is up for it and you know the guys will do whatever I ask so it is all sorted. After the show we will go and wait by the exit door." Jessica hadn't given Bella any opportunity to object to her plan but secretly Bella was as excited by it as Jessica, she wanted to see if the singer was really that god like up close.

Just as she thought this she realised that she had seen him close up before, he was the guy who had been staring through the restaurant window earlier, and that made her want to meet him even more, he had had such a strange expression earlier that she had found herself having the urge to comfort him and she wanted to see if he was any better after the show.

**EPOV**

Edward followed his band mates back onto the stage with only a faint hint of apprehension. Thankfully that all evaporated when he set foot on the stage and found that whatever it had been that had tormented before seemed to have disappeared.

They got through the last few songs without any more hitches and Edward pretty much managed to keep his mind on what was happening, only a few times did it start to wander back to the scent and where it might have come from if it had really existed at all.

Eventually the show finished and the five of them left the stage to thunderous applause and cheering, it appeared that the crowd had thoroughly forgiven him for his bizarre actions earlier.

Edward followed the rest of the band back to the dressing room to collect their things and then followed behind as they made their way to the exit. He trailed behind slowly still lost in his own thoughts as they made their way out of the building.

By the time he caught up with them Aiden was already chatting to a group of teenagers, thanking them for coming out to see them and staring at two of the girls who were very little clothing even though it was pretty cold out now that the wind had picked up.

Edward walked over to join them just in time to hear Aiden ask if they would like to come back to their hotel for an after show party. As soon as he said these word Edward stopped listening to his thoughts, knowing exactly what would be going on inside his head. Instead he turned his attention to the group of teenagers.

The three guys were a little apprehensive about going with them but were imagining the bragging they could do to all their friends back home if they had partied with a band, the two girls in the skimpy outfits were almost over excited at the thought. Edward soon turned his attention away from the two of them, fearing that their minds may go down the same route as his band mates already had.

He turned his attention to the last two girls in the group who were standing a little way away and immediately noticed something very strange, he could only hear one set of thoughts. This confused him greatly; he had never had any problem reading people's thoughts before, no one's mind had ever been closed off to him before.

This day was just getting more and more strange for Edward, first the group of vampires, then the overwhelming smelling blood, then this inability to hear someone's thoughts. Edward wondered briefly if he was cracking up, if the pressure of hiding his identity from so many humans on such a regular basis was finally getting to him and he was losing his mind.

Edward opened up his mind to all the thoughts of those around him and listened carefully but he only heard the voices he had already heard. He stepped closer to the two girls and focused his attention solely on the two of them trying in vain to find out why there was a voice missing and which one.

At that moment of the other girls called over to them "hey Angela, Bella, Aiden has invited us all back to their hotel for an after show party! Let's all go, it will be so good!"

"Um, okay I guess. What do you think Bella?" Asked the one named Angela and Edward realised that this was the one whose thoughts he could hear.

As he stepped closer to the other one, Bella he now knew her name to be, to try again to hear her thoughts. As he did so the wind suddenly picked up and he was once again overwhelmed by the luscious smell of blood and he realised that it was coming from this girl in front of him, the one with the mind that seemed to be closed off to him.

He unconsciously found himself reaching out towards her but before his hands made contact one of the boys from the group was there pulling her away, a concerned expression on his face.

As if he thought he could be any match for a vampire, Edward almost laughed out loud at the thought. But he let him pull her away from him slightly while the monster inside thought about the best way to get her alone so that he could taste her.

He decided that the best thing would be to let them all go back to the hotel and then seduce her into going to his room with him, where they would be no interruptions from any of the others and he could really savour every last drop of her tantalising blood. He knew it might be difficult to get her away from the boy but if he needed to kill the boy first then he would but only if he got in the way.

He slowly followed the group as they made their way to the hotel, allowing the monster free reign over the many ways he could get her alone and how he would kill the others if the need arose.

The logical part was almost lost to the monster but every so often it would assert itself and try and convince Edward that she was just an innocent girl who had done nothing wrong and had not threatened his secret in any way so didn't deserve to die. The monster was paying no heed to anything no matter how logical it may be.

Soon enough they were back at the hotel and making their way up to Aiden and Ethan's room where it had been decided the party was to be held. Edward stayed as close as possible to Bella but the boy was trying to keep her attention focused on him. It was obvious that he had got a thing for her but he could tell from his thoughts that so far the affections had been unreciprocated.

Every so often Bella's eyes would sneak to Edward's face and whenever she realised she had been caught her whole face would turn scarlet and the monster inside Edward would roar and thrash, not wanting to wait any longer. Soon he kept thinking, soon he would have her all for himself.

**A/N: hope you all** **liked that, coming up in the next chapter Edward Vs Mike for Bella. Who will win? Remember reviews are very good; they make me a happy writer. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I just wanted to say thank you all so much for all the lovely reviews you have sent me, especially all of you have reviewed more than once. It makes me so happy to know that there are people out there enjoying my story. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight or any of the characters, no matter how hard I wish, that honour still belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Though I do lay claim to the rest of the band! (I love my boys, even if they do very naughty things on a regular basis!)**

**EPOV**

Edward's attention had been so focused on Bella that he hadn't even noticed that their group had grown in size as they made their way from the venue to the hotel. It was only once they were in Aiden and Ethan's room did he notice that several other girls had joined them. Typical Aiden behaviour, he thought, never content with the choice of three or four girls. No, he had to have as many as possible around him to fuel his ego.

His thoughts did not stay with his band mate for long though, as now they were back at the hotel it was time to set his plan in motion. He was determined to get Bella alone in his room as soon as possible, there was no way that he was going to sit in this room with the rest of them while the monster screamed out for her blood. It was taking all his concentration to even appear remotely like his usual self and the longer he had to act at it, the more chance there was of the mask slipping and someone catching a glimpse of the monster underneath. He shuddered slightly at the thought; everyone had to think that she had gone with him willingly. The less people that would make the connection between her disappearance and him the easier it would be to cover up what had actually happened.

Everyone settled themselves into the slightly too small room and Edward made sure that he was as close as possible to Bella but unfortunately the boy who had dragged her away earlier was obviously having the same thoughts as he squashed himself in on the other side of her. Edward wasn't overly concerned about his presence though, he knew that no human could be a match for all of the tools he had in his arsenal for luring his victim away. What could this one little human do that could counteract the effects of Edward's looks, charm and alluring scent?

Edward allowed his thoughts to wander away from Bella for a few moments, to the thoughts of the others in the room especially to those of the boy sat on the other side of her. There was nothing original in his band mate's minds, they were only interested in one thing – the same thing they were interested in every time they were in a hotel room with willing females. The vast majority of the females in the room were having similar thoughts to those of his band mates and he knew that it wouldn't be long before they started to separate out into the different rooms.

There was one exception to these thoughts though, the girl that had been standing with Bella outside the venue, Angela, she seemed more concerned about everyone else and in particular Bella. _I hope Bella is okay over there, she seems a little uncomfortable squashed between those two. She is probably used to it with Mike though; he never seems to leave her side even though she has made it exceptionally clear that she is not interested in him that way. That guy will never learn, maybe I should try and rescue her. Then again she might be enjoying the attention the singer, Edward I think he said, is giving her. He is incredibly good looking, in a slightly scary kind of way. Hmm I wonder what Ben is thinking right now, I wish he would look at me the way that those two are staring at Bella. _At this Edward stopped listening to her thoughts; he had gotten everything useful out of them that he could for the time being.

Edward knew that he would be able to use this information to his advantage, knowing that no matter what he did Bella was not going to be swayed by this Mike guy. This made him feel even more confident that he would be able to get her alone before too much longer. All he had to do was make sure that one of the other guys did not think that they could use his room to hook up. He wanted to enjoy this as much as possible and take his time over it, he would not be rushing this in an alleyway somewhere. He planned to take his time and savour every drop of her blood, she may be the only one in the world with blood that smells this way to him and he wanted to make the most of this wondrous experience.

Edward turned his attention back to Bella, satisfied that everyone's thoughts were on other matters than what he was doing, well except for Mike but Edward was not concerned about him. He realised that he had yet to speak a single word to Bella, no wonder she looked a little uncomfortable around him. He had been so distracted trying to figure out why he couldn't read her thoughts that he had not even introduced himself.

"Hello" he said in his most seductive voice "I don't think I've actually introduced myself yet, my name is Edward Masen, but I guess you know that already" he then turned on his most charming smile, knowing that there were very few women who could resist it.

Before Bella could even have a chance to react Mike leant over her and addressed Edward "Hey, I'm Mike and this is Bella. Thanks for inviting us tonight; I thought the show was really good, even with the technical hitch in the middle" The way he kept his arm around Bella's shoulders as he spoke and the emphasis he placed on the 'us' made it clear to Edward that he was trying to claim Bella as his own and this made him want to laugh. After hearing Angela's thoughts earlier and watching the way Bella stiffened up under his touch made it obvious that this was all one sided but Mike clearly had no idea that this was the case. Edward couldn't contain the small laugh that escaped when he thought about the fact that this guy was gullible enough that he fell for the whole 'technical hitch' thing.

At the sound of his laugh he saw Bella's face turn from looking at Mike on her other side to look at him, as she did her expression softened from the scowl that she had been directing at Mike into a small smile. As he looked into her eyes properly for the first time her entire face turned a beautiful shade of scarlet and the monster reacted to this with force. It was all he could do in that moment to keep himself seated there beside her without burying his teeth in the delicate skin of her neck.

The smile faltered slightly as she read the expression on his face and a look of fear crossed her face. Edward instantly tried to rein the monster in and put his expression back to normal before he could frighten her anymore.

Even though he knew that it wouldn't be long before he would be feeding off her there was part of him that didn't want her to be scared of him. He didn't quite know why this was he had never had this reaction towards any of his prey before. Maybe it was because he was spending a larger amount of time in this girls company, when usually he took them by surprise or at the very least made sure that it was over with as quick as possible. Even though he knew he was a monster but there was no need to be overly cruel about his actions, he didn't want his victims to suffer unnecessarily even though the vast majority of them deserved to. Most of his prey had committed terrible acts that required punishment, but Edward knew that ending their lives was more than enough for any of them.

At the thought of his past prey the rational side of him pushed past the monster and made its presence felt. It reminded him that the lives he took were of those that society was better off without and that the girl in front of him now had done nothing to deserve what was about to happen to her. Edward felt the guilt of his future actions wash over him in a wave but he knew that there was nothing that could stop him from his course of action now. He wished that he could read her mind so he could find something there to justify his actions to himself but he knew it would be just that, a justification after the fact because he would manage to find something there no matter how small and insignificant. If he really thought about it enough he could even turn her lack of interest in the boy sitting the other side of her into a reason to do what he was going to do, but he knew that he would be just rationalising himself when no rational explanation existed.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of her voice gently calling out to him "Edward, are you there?" her voice was light and musical just as he thought it would be. He lifted his eyes to meet hers and unleashed his most dazzling smile "I'm here".

"Is everything okay? You seemed lost in thought, are you thinking about what happened at the concert earlier? You shouldn't worry about it you know, I think everyone has forgotten about it now. The show was very good; I bet everyone that was there went home happy. I certainly will" As she said this a blush coloured her cheeks slightly again. Edward realised that she was one of those people who embarrassed easily, either that or he was having more of an effect on her than he thought.

Edward was also surprised by what she was saying to him, here she was in mortal danger and she was worrying about him and his state of mind. He had to admit that there was something about this girl that intrigued him, she didn't seem to react to situations in the same way that most people would. He just wished that he could read her mind so he could know what she was really thinking about.

Before he could answer he question though, Mike leaned in towards her and asked her "Are you okay Bella? You seem a little flushed, is this guy bothering you?"

Edward listened intently to her answer, hoping to get some insight into what was going on in her head "No Mike, I'm fine. I was just making sure Edward was okay he looks a little stressed." She said this all quietly into Mike's ear, obviously hoping that Edward wouldn't hear her talking about him.

Once again Edward found himself repressing a chuckle as he thought about the fact that she was worried about his stress levels when his main concern of the evening was getting her alone so he could taste that luscious smelling blood.

"I wouldn't worry about him if I were you Bella, judging by his behaviour at the concert I'd say he was on something. Look at his eyes, they seem a little crazy." Mike said all of this whilst shooting furtive glances at Edward. Edward made no secret of the fact that he was listening to every word that was being said by the two teenagers sitting next to him and Mike obviously noticed that he was being watched because he chose to go no further with his discussion of Edward's mental state.

Bella must have seen some truth in Mike's words because she edged slightly away from Edward after looking at him carefully for a few seconds. Mike's thoughts became jubilant at this point and it took everything Edward had to stay in his seat and not reach over and punch him in the face. He wasn't sure why he was so bothered about what this guy was thinking; it wasn't like Bella was going to be around much longer anyway. Edward was going to be the ultimate winner of this.

Edward concentrated on making his face appear as normal as possible so that he didn't push her further towards the other guy, he was supposed to make it look like he was seducing her not sending her running into the arms of someone else.

"Can I get you a drink?" Mike asked Bella, shooting a smug look at Edward as he did so. _Ha, looks like I'm more popular than Mr Rock Star over there. Maybe I will ask her out again when we get back to Forks, she's bound to say yes after all I did rescue her from him. On second thoughts maybe I should see if they have any rooms available, she could say thank you that way. I'll go check it out after I get her a drink._

Edward couldn't believe what he was hearing in Mike's thoughts, did he really think Bella would sleep with him just because he said so? The rational, gentleman part of Edward wanted to take him outside and have words with him. The monster wanted to take him outside and give him a beating, for once the two sides of him were nearly in agreement and Edward decided to listen to them both.

First though Mike went to get a drink for Bella and Edward got a moment alone with her. He leaned in towards her slightly, knowing what effect his scent would have and unleashed his most dazzling smile upon her. She looked up at him and he heard her heart rate increase and her breathing become shallow and he dazzled her. "I'm sorry; I don't seem to be the best host this evening. I should have made sure you had everything you needed. I hope you are enjoying yourself in spite of lack of attention."

A blush made its way up her cheeks again and he could hear her fighting to get in enough air to be able to speak, finally she managed it "That's okay; I'm enjoying your company, even if you are a little distant. It's amazing just being here, I never thought I would get to see you in the flesh." At the mention of flesh the blush became even more pronounced and he once again wished he could read her thoughts to know what she was thinking to cause that reaction.

Before he could say anything else Mike reappeared with Bella's drink "Are you sure you don't want a beer? Everyone else is having one, it wouldn't hurt." _It would make it a lot easier to persuade you to stay if you had a few drinks inside you._ Bella simply shook her head and took the can he held out to her.

"I just need to do something; I will be back in a couple of minutes. Do you want me to get Angela to keep you company?" Mike asked Bella, obviously noticing that Edward was sitting closer to her than he had been before. "Mike, I am perfectly fine as I am, I don't need you worrying over me."

"I need to step out for a minute as well, I need to speak to our manager about something quickly, but I will be right back." Edward saw Bella's face fall slightly as he said this, she must have been looking forward to getting him to herself for the time that Mike was gone. Edward suppressed a smile at the thought of the time they would have alone once he got rid of the annoyance that had been getting in the way so far.

Edward silently followed Mike down the corridor towards the staircase at the end. As Mike went to take the first step down Edward grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him round so they were face to face.

"I am kind enough to let you come to my hotel after pouring my heart and soul into the songs I played for your amusement and this is how you repay me? By telling someone that I am on drugs and ruining my chances of getting to know Bella better. That's not very nice now is it? You see that is a real shame, because I am a really nice person normally. But when someone gets on the wrong side of me than they really feel it." Edward could see the fear in Mike's eyes as he said this but he could tell from his thoughts that he was going to put on a hard man front. And sure enough, seconds later, there it was "I don't know what you are on about. Bella is my friend and I'm not going to let some junkie get anywhere near her."

Edward let out a laugh at his feeble attempt at scaring him off "You really have no idea what you are messing with do you?" As he said this he edged closer to the top of the stairs, still with his hand on Mike's shoulder, until Mike was balanced precariously at the edge of the first step.

"Now, I think you should do us all a favour and leave. You seem to be dragging the party spirit down with you attitude." With this he uncurled his fingers from Mike's shoulder and nudged his foot with one of his own sending Mike stumbling backwards towards the waiting stairs.

Edward turned and walked away, not even waiting to hear the thump as Mike landed at the other end of the staircase.

He walked back into the room and immediately resumed his position next to Bella, once again inhaling the amazing scent that seemed to do away with the rational part of his mind. "I just bumped into Mike in the hall; he said to tell you he was going to head back. He said you should stay and enjoy the party with the rest of your friends."

A look of concern flitted across Bella's face but it was quickly replaced with a mixture of happiness and excitement.

The next hour or so was spent trying to seduce Bella into coming to his room, without coming across as too pushy. Thankfully luck was on his side tonight though. Jessica had been flirting like crazy with Aiden all evening and they soon disappeared to his room, and the other girls who had joined them soon left after this. The others were all laughing and drinking so it was easy for Edward to turn to Bella and say "It's really loud in here, it's giving me a headache. Would you like to come down to my room so we can chat in peace? No funny business I promise." He once again put on hi most dazzling smile as he waited for her reply.

After a few seconds she managed to get her heart rate and breathing under control enough to say "Um, okay then but I can't stay too long. The others might get worried."

Edward smiled a little more and held out his hand to help her up. As soon as her skin came into contact with his he felt a spark of electricity shoot through his hand and travel up his body. He looked down at her in confusion wondering if she had felt that as well. Judging by the look on her face the answer to that was yes, she looked as shocked as he felt. Edward was getting ever more confused by this girl, what was it about her? First there was the blood, then the inability to hear her thoughts, now this. She really was some sort of demon sent to test him. Unfortunately for her, this was one test he knew he was sure to fail.

They walked in silence down to his room, both giving each other small glances every now and then. Every time Edward caught Bella looking the blush in her cheeks would step up a notch and the monster would remind him of the purpose for this trip.

Eventually they reached his room and he let go of her hand to unlock the door and usher her inside. As soon as they were in he led her over to the bed, she perched on the edge exactly how he had imagined. Everything was going according to plan, Bella was thoroughly dazzled and his teeth were only inches away from breaking through the pale skin of her neck.

Suddenly everything changed; the door that Edward had assumed had locked behind them flew open and crashed into the wall behind it as Jessica burst into the room, her clothing dishevelled and her eyes wild. Edward was bombarded with the ferocity of her thoughts _I can't believe that jerk! As if he thought that I was going to do THAT! Who does he think I am? Some cheap whore? We are getting out of here!_

Edward's mind was engrossed for a second wondering what it was exactly that Aiden had tried to get her to do. Jessica took advantage of Edward's momentary distraction to grab Bella's arm and drag her off the bed and towards the door. Before Edward knew it they were out the door and in the lift on their way out of the hotel.

As he went to follow he found his way blocked by Aiden dressed only in his underwear, laughing manically at the lit doors that had just closed on the group. "I really thought she would be up for it man! She looked the type, you know?" He said as he saw Edward exit his room.

Edward merely brushed past him in his determination to follow the group that had just left. There was nothing for it now, he was going to have to follow them, and thankfully he knew where they were from so he could always just wait for them there if needs be.

Edward set off out of the hotel determined that he would get Bella tonight at whatever cost.

**Hope you all enjoyed that, now you know why I had the Alice chapter earlier! **

**Remember reviews make for a happy writer! And a happy writer writes faster!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! They made me so happy! I have a bit of writer's block with the next part of the story, so I have decided to write out Bella's POV from the last chapter while I work on it. Sorry if you were waiting for the next part, I will get it out as soon as possible. Don't hate me please.**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is still the queen of everything Twilight; I just play with them occasionally!**

**BPOV**

Bella couldn't believe that they were all going back to the band's hotel and that Edward seemed to be paying so much attention to her. Though he hadn't actually spoken to her yet, but he did seem to be looking at her much more than any of the others.

As the walked the guy who had introduced himself as Aiden got talking to another group of girls and they joined them. Bella saw Jessica shooting daggers at this new group of girls, she obviously wasn't happy sharing the attention.

After watching Jessica and Lauren for a minute or two to make sure there was not going to be an argument Bella allowed herself a glance at the god like man walking next to her. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something, his eyes were tight and he was staring into space. It almost looked like he was fighting with himself about something; it was probably something to do with what happened at the concert tonight. Bella decided not to let him be for a while and just hoped that he would snap out of it before they got back to the hotel. She didn't fancy having to talk to Mike all night and it appeared that Jessica and Lauren had found their own entertainment for the evening and she knew that Angela was hoping that Ben would finally pluck up the courage to speak to her tonight.

They soon got back to the hotel and settled down in one of the rooms. Bella found herself with Edward sat on one side of her, which she was very happy about, and Mike squashed in one the other, which she wasn't quite so happy about. Mike didn't seem to have any concept of personal space Bella thought with a slight frown.

Bella allowed her eyes to drift back to Edward's god like face once again, and found him watching the other's in the room with rapt attention. She watched as his eyes moved from his band mates to the girls surrounding them and finally settle on Angela. He looked at her deeply for a minute or two as if she was telling him something that he found incredibly interesting even though she was completely silent. _Maybe he is just deep in thought; he must have a lot to think about after the concert earlier. Or maybe he is regretting allowing us all to come back with them. We might not be up to his usual standards that would explain why he has not spoken to me yet._ At these thoughts Bella began to feel a little uncomfortable. She wondered whether she should ask Mike to take her home, but then almost as soon as the thought passed through her mind she thought better of it. If she were to ask him that he might take it as meaning something more than Bella intended. _How many times could she make it clear to Mike that she only thought of him as a friend before he understood?_

She was pulled from these thoughts by the most beautiful sound in the world "Hello" said the voice very close to her ear, his cool breath tickling her skin "I don't think I've actually introduced myself yet, my name is Edward Masen. But I guess you know that already" Bella looked up as he was saying things and found herself looking at the most breathtaking smile she had ever seen. She found herself unable to speak for a few seconds and just as she eventually opened her mouth after what seemed to her like hours, but was in fact just a few seconds, She felt Mike's arm come to rest over her shoulder in what he obviously intended to be a proprietary manner and he leant over her to address Edward himself. "Hey, I'm Mike and this is Bella. Thanks for inviting us tonight; I thought the show was very good, even with the technical hitch in the middle"

Bella spent the whole of his little speech scowling at him. How dare he just barge into their conversation and take over like that? He was obviously still trying to claim Bella as his own _That whole just friends conversation is going to have to be had again very soon_ Bella thought, still scowling at Mike.

Once again Edward did something to pull her from her thoughts, this time it was the sound of a small laugh escaping. She swiftly turned her attention from Mike back to Edward and as she did she felt her features soften from the scowl into a small smile. She found herself staring into those unusually coloured eyes and they seemed to be looking back just as intently. She felt the blush working its way up her face and knew that it was going to be a violent shade of red but she could do nothing to stop it, especially under the intense gaze of the most incredibly good looking person she had ever seen.

Then she realised that his features had tightened just like they had earlier when they were walking to the hotel, it appeared again that he was having some sort of internal struggle, as if he was fighting with himself about something. As she watched his expression changed as if he was trying to force his features back to normal. Bella felt herself let out a breath that she didn't even realise that she had been holding. She carried on watching his features as he was lost in his own thoughts. He seemed to be thinking about something that made him uncomfortable, almost pained and Bella felt herself once again wanting to reach out and smooth the frown from his face. She needed to do something to make his features ease into that wonderful smile she had seen earlier.

"Edward, are you there?" she said softly to him hoping to bring him back to reality. At the sound of her voice she saw his eyes lift from the patch of carpet that he had been staring at and meet hers, as their eyes met the smile that she had been hoping to see lit up his face. "I'm here" he said.

She tried to reassure him that everything was okay and that he shouldn't worry about the show, everyone would have gone home happy especially her. As she said these words the blush made another appearance on her cheeks.

Unfortunately Mike once again chose to interrupt their conversation; he leant in even closer to her, if that were even possible. "Are you okay, Bella? You seem a little flushed, is this guy bothering you?"

Not wanting Edward to hear what she was saying about him, she found herself talking quietly into Mike's ear. "No Mike, I'm fine. I was just making sure that Edward was okay he looks a little stressed"

"I wouldn't worry about him if I were you Bella, judging by his behaviour at the concert I'd say he was on something. Look at his eyes, they seem a little crazy." Bella saw that during the whole of this conversation Mike had been shooting glances at Edward and Edward had in turn been watching and listening intently to everything that was being said by the two of them.

Bella looked closely at Edward and saw the look in his eyes that Mike was referring to, it was hidden slightly but it was definitely there. A look of dazed disbelief mixed with frustration and a small amount of hysteria. Bella found herself slightly frightened of him in that moment and edged closer to Mike. She saw a smug look come over his face then, almost as if he thought he had won some imaginary war with Edward where Bella was the ultimate prize. "Can I get you a drink?" Mike asked, once again shooting that smug look at Edward. Bella nodded her head slightly and Mike was off like a shot. Bella only hoped that he wasn't going to try and insist that she had a beer; she really didn't want her reactions to be slowed around him.

As soon as Mike got up Edward leaned in towards her and she caught a whiff of his cologne. It was the most amazing thing she had ever smelt, unlike any others she had smelt before. She looked up at his face to see that dazzling smile once again, and she felt her heart start to race slightly under his intense stare. "I'm sorry; I don't seem to be the best host this evening. I should have made sure you had everything you needed. I hope you are enjoying yourself in spite of my lack of attention."

Bella's heart rate sped up even more and she found that she couldn't get enough air into her lungs to be able to speak; she also knew that she was blushing once again. She couldn't believe the reaction she had merely to this guy's presence. Finally she managed to get some words out "That's okay; I'm enjoying your company, even if you are a little distant It's amazing just being here, I never thought I would get to see you in the flesh." As soon as she said the word flesh she found herself wondering what he looked like under that shirt, would the rest of him be as perfect as what she had seen and heard of him already.

Thankfully Mike reappeared at this moment to stop her saying anything she may regret. He handed her a soft drink and just as she knew he would he checked to make sure she wouldn't prefer a beer. He then told her that he needed to step out for a minute and offered to get Angela over to keep her company, obviously unhappy that she and Edward were sat closer together. Bella shook her head, pleased that she would get some more time alone with Edward.

Unfortunately this was not to be as he said he needed to go speak to his manager for a minute and left after Mike.

Bella found herself alone for the first time that evening and used the time to try and process her thoughts towards Edward. She had to admit that part of hr was scared of him and wanted to run away but there was a much stronger part that wanted to bask under the glow of his attention. She couldn't understand why someone as amazing as him would want to spend time with someone as plain as her but she was going to make the most of it. Bella looked up to see Angela looking at her with a grin on her face, as if she was encouraging her to go for it with Edward.

Just then Edward burst back into the room, his eyes sparkling slightly. He walked over and sat back down close to Bella. "I just bumped into Mike in the hall; he said to tell you that he was going to head back. He said you should stay and enjoy the party with the rest of your friends." Bella felt concerned for a second, it wasn't like Mike to give up that easily but this was soon replaced by much happier emotions when she realised that no one would be interrupting her time with Edward anymore.

Edward's mood seemed to have lightened with Mike's exit just as much as Bella's had and he became chattier and even flirty. They chatted about different things, Edward's band and what Bella did in her spare time until Bella looked up to see Jessica leaving the room with Aiden and the other girls who had joined them got up and left. Bella was a little surprised that Jessica had gone off with him, but knew that Jessica didn't have very strong morals when it came to boys.

Just after this Edward leaned in close to Bella and whispered in her ear "it's really loud in here, it's giving me a headache. Would you like to come down to my room so we can chat in peace? No funny business I promise." Bella was torn, she desperately wanted to spend time with him but she wasn't like Jessica, she didn't go off to hotel rooms with guys that she barely knew. Still undecided she looked up at Edward and saw that dazzling, crooked smile on his face, his face that was so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her face. His breath that somehow smelt as good as his cologne. Before she knew what she was saying she found herself agreeing with him.

He smiled even wider at her and held out his hand to help her up, she hadn't even noticed him stand. As soon as she placed her hand in his she felt as if she had been shocked, it felt as if there was electricity travelling between them. Bella was surprised but left her hand in his, enjoying the contact with him.

They walked in silence to his room, Bella lost in her own thoughts about the hand that was gently holding hers. It had taken her a few seconds to notice that it was much colder than hers and it was very hard. She wondered about this the whole way, only interrupting her thoughts occasionally to glance up at him. Every so often he would catch her looking and the blush would fire up her cheeks again. He only let go of her hand when they reached his room and he needed to unlock the door.

Bella followed him in and noticed that unlike the room they had been in before, this one only held one bed. The bed that he led her over to and she perched on the edge of. Bella watched as he sat down near her, close enough that she could still smell that wonderful cologne but far enough that she didn't feel uncomfortable.

Bella wondered what was going to happen next, but before she had a chance to find out the door flew open and Jessica burst into the room, her face thunderous. How she knew where they were Bella couldn't figure out, but she didn't get much of a chance to think as without a word Jessica stalked over to the bed and grabbed Bella's arm and proceeded to drag her out of the room towards the lift.

As soon as the doors closed on them and the rest of the group that had heard the commotion and joined them Jessica turned her scowl on them all and said "I don't want to talk about this night ever again and if I hear any of you talking about this at school I will kill you personally. I just want to get back home and scrub every inch of my body that he touched." The look on her face halted any conversation that any of them may have thought about starting so the rest of the journey was spent in silence. This suited Bella enormously though, her head was still full of Edward. She couldn't believe that she had been alone in a hotel room with him and she wondered what would have happened if Jessica had not burst in when she did. _Oh well, I guess I'll never know now. It's not like he would come looking for me or anything. He will probably have forgotten about me already. I'll just have to go back to dreaming about what might have been._

**A/N: hope you like ****that; I had it playing around in my head while I was trying to write the next chapter so I thought I should get it out so I could concentrate better. Hopefully I will be able to write better now and get the next chapter out soon. Thank you all for your patience, I wish I could write more but work gets in the way, especially in the run up to Christmas when we need to get more orders out. (I work in a lab making diagnostic slides for hospitals and we need to make sure they have enough to cover the time we will be closed.) **


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